John Smith – The Living Kind
By Alli Patton
Abundant with the Devon-bred artist’s graceful guitar stylings and rainy-day lilt, The Living Kind is a lush expanse of delicate strings, pillowy beats and atmospheric harmonies, all sweeping and swirling across ten tracks.
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John Smith – The Living Kind
Label: Thirty Tigers/Commoner Records
Producer: Joe Henry
Release Date: March 15, 2024
Tracklisting:
1. Candle
2. Milestones
3. The Living Kind
4. Trick of the Light
5. Silver Mine
6. Dividing Line
7. Too Good To be True
8. Horizons
9. The World Turns
10. Lily
A musician’s musician, John Smith has been the architect of some of Americana’s most mesmerizing works over the last two decades. The folk singer-songwriter’s latest effort, The Living Kind, is no different, but it’s an album that must find you first.
Abundant with the Devon-bred artist’s graceful guitar stylings and rainy-day lilt, The Living Kind is a lush expanse of delicate strings, pillowy beats and atmospheric harmonies, all sweeping and swirling across ten tracks. The entire album is a passive listen, a sonic stroll for the blissfully detached…until it isn’t.
From the commiserating opening track, ‘Candle,’ to its enchanting closer, ‘Lily,’ The Living Kind is sodden with intimate, introspective songs eager to connect with audiences. The offerings are moody like ‘Milestones,’ playful like ‘Trick of the Light’ and dreamy like ‘Horizons.’ Born from facing hardships head-on with music, the album puts many aspects of life – time, love, family and what we pour into the things that truly matter – into perspective. What results is a batch of very human songs about what it means to be just that.
Saturated in primarily melancholic sounds – the record’s bright, buoyant title track is its only exception – it can be easy to write the album off as one-noted. Tracks like ‘Silver Mine,’ ‘Dividing Line’ and ‘Too Good To Be True’ can sound sleepy to the distant ear, creating a lull halfway through the release. However, where the album dozes, there is depth. Wise words wait in the sinuous folds of strings and sighs, poised to strike like lightning, weigh heavy on the heart and take up residency in the mind.
The Living Kind is yet another masterful display of Smith’s instrumental prowess and lyrical acumen. While in parts sluggish and monotonous, it’s a profound record that captures listeners when they least expect it and perhaps when they need it most.
7/10
John Smith's 2024 project, The Living Kind, is available March 15 via Thirty Tigers/Commoner Records.
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